Thursday, February 19, 2015

Shake with ice and strain into a small wine glass rimmed with lime juice and encrusted with sugar on the rim. Add a wide lime twist.

After the Midnight Stinger, I decided to take it back to earlier in the century via Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933. There, I spotted a quirky Crusta recipe in the rum section called the Newkirk Crusta. The Crustas in that book, such as the Rye Crusta often leave out key aspects or make strange additions (one has egg in it?!); here, both the Rye and Newkirk Crustas leave out bitters which seem to be a hallmark of the spirit plus small amounts of citrus and liqueur(s) plus bitters structure (not to mention the sugar-crusted rim) laid out in the mid 19th century. Regardless, I was game to try their nonstandard recipe.

The Newkirk Crusta began with a lime oil aroma from the twist along with a fruitiness from the raspberry syrup and port; later, the nose became more rum and lime driven. Next, the fruity grape aspect of the port joined the lime on the sip, and the swallow offered the rest of the port notes in addition to rum and raspberry flavors. Indeed, Andrea commented that despite the lack of bitters, it still "tastes very old school."

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